


Mistakes of Kindred Spirits

by yeoniejjang



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Accidental Kissing, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Banter, Drunk Kevin, Fate, M/M, Mentioned Jacob, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Swearing, hak is clumsy, i really dont know how to tag help, kevin is WHIPPED, kinda funny?, sunhak, sunwoo is rude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26304988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeoniejjang/pseuds/yeoniejjang
Summary: “Some might think that the creativity, imagination, and flights of fancy that give my life meaning are insanity.”And really, it’s insane how much Haknyeon is beguiled by someone he’s never met.
Relationships: Ju Haknyeon/Kim Sunwoo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 45





	Mistakes of Kindred Spirits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kyupop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyupop/gifts).



> I'm back!! Even though uni is literally crushing my soul :-) I will now disappear for another month or so maybe..
> 
> Here's an early gift for my bff oni <3
> 
> And a quick thanks to anon for enduring my stupidity :-)
> 
> Love you endlessly 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> p.s. im so bad at tagging someone help oh god

_ “Some might think that the creativity, imagination, and flights of fancy that give my life meaning are insanity.” _

And really, it’s insane how much Haknyeon is beguiled by someone he’s never met.

\---------

Haknyeon awakens from his slumber, rubbing his bleary vision so that he can clearly see what’s written on the palm of his hand.

_ FUCK! _

Haknyeon lets out an astringent wail.

_ Why the hell is my soulmate swearing at 6AM in the damn MORNING. Aggressive little shit. _

Haknyeon huffs out a ‘good morning’ so that the message on his soulmate's palm is less vulgar, hoping that maybe it’d help lighten whatever situation he was in that had him saying the f-word at the rise of the sun.

This has happened several times before, crude words etched on his palm, inked like a fresh tattoo, only alternating into another rally of words the next morning.

There was a day where his soulmate had asked a question along the lines of “If I am here, then is there another Sunwoo on another planet doing something different?”

And with that, Haknyeon found out his soulmate’s name… and that he had an interest in the earth and it’s parallel dimensions. But obviously, Sunwoo is a common name, and he could be located anywhere around the world — what’s to say that he’s also living in Korea?

Haknyeon stretches his taut muscles, vocalising the relief he feels in a perfectly pitched modulation. It is a well-known habit of his, singing at every chance he gets, even when he sneezes. 

He proceeds to get through the routine that has been ingrained into him as a child.  _ Wake up, make the bed, brush your teeth, wash your face, change into your clothes and go make breakfast.  _ It’s all basic muscle memory to Haknyeon and he’s never missed a step.

Being consistent is undoubtedly important to him; it gives him a sense of control over a life that seemed to carry less meaning than he’d imagined. Haknyeon believes that the fleeting moments in his day will be fulfilled after meeting  _ the one _ , something that will ultimately filter the world into something akin to kaleidoscopic vision. He has always dreamed of the day he’d meet his soulmate - a dramatic entrance to an endless bond where their eyes meet as the ocean hurtles upon the surface of gossamery white sand. 

Haknyeon believes in soulmates. However, at twenty-one, he should’ve already met his soulmate or partner for life  _ somewhere along those lines _ and Haknyeon seems to be helplessly sucked into the thought that it's too late for him to find anyone that rides the same wavelength. 

\---------

After a taxing day working tirelessly at the local convenience store while studying for his civil service exam, Haknyeon lugs his way back to his decrepit studio apartment, hanging his head as he rubs the knots in the back of his neck. He drags his feet across the gravel, the crunching sonority rattling through the air. Dark clouds above him hum the melody of misery, foretelling a thunderstorm that approaches him like a foreboding surge of contrition. Over the sound of the atmosphere around him, he still hears what appears to be footsteps heading towards him, but ignores them in hopes that he’ll remain unbothered.

But, of course, he is proven wrong.

Their shoulders collide with an audible thud, causing Haknyeon to stagger back, clutching at the pain now pulsing down his arm.

“Watch where you’re going, idiot.”

Haknyeon lifts his head and their gazes meet. In that moment, lightning cascades from the sky and simultaneously strikes an electric pulse through his body, setting it alight with a feeling of familiarity and an unknown attachment towards this stranger. 

They hold eye contact for what feels like centuries, a mind numbing lapse to the world around them like two entities suspended in a construct of time. Only when the second barrage of thunder hurtles towards them does Haknyeon snap out of his reverie.

The rain begins to pour and, just like any rom-com, neither of them have an umbrella to defend themselves from the sudden tears that God sheds.

They make a sprint to the nearest shelter, the unknown boy reaching refuge before Haknyeon can even make it halfway there. Rolling his eyes, Haknyeon picks up his pace, vision obstructed by the heavy pattering of transparent droplets.

Haknyeon strides past this stranger, expelling the water dripping into the corners of his eyes from the strands sticking to his forehead. He makes a beeline towards the fractured wooden bench behind the boorish boy he’d just met, but his foot hits the cement curb, gravity decidedly opposes his ability to walk normally and, for Haknyeon, time slows  _ again.  _ For a second, he hopes that  _ maybe, just maybe,  _ this stranger will be able to break his fall, but his luck wears thin, bringing him to osculate the ground below him with a wallop.

Haknyeon hears a cackle ring through his ears, and he whips his head towards the devil incarnate who now stares back at him with a hand over his mouth, uselessly stifling his snickers.

With ears reddening from irritation and mostly embarrassment, he hastily picks himself up, brushing off his now dirt-stained white shirt.  _ Of course I’m wearing white when I decide to trip in front of this rude son of a bi- _

“I know you’re annoyed at me for calling you an idiot, but the point still stands.” 

Even from where Haknyeon is standing, he sees the stranger’s shoulders bounce as he laughs quietly to himself.

“You know what? The reason why we bumped into each other in the first place was because you also weren’t looking where you were going, asshole,” Haknyeon spits back, now riled up by the man before him.

“FYI, my name’s Sunwoo, not ‘asshole’, but I guess that's also a suitable nickname.” 

Haknyeon can sense the smirk playing on Sunwoo’s face and he shakes a fist towards Sunwoo’s back, silently barking out an array of curses to the mop of red hair. All of a sudden, Haknyeon stops, the cogs in his brain propelling to life. 

_ Sunwoo?.. The name sounds way too familiar..  _

And it clicks.  _ That’s the name of his soulmate. _

It couldn’t be him though. How could it be? There are so many people named Sunwoo, and to think this brat is his soulmate? Haknyeon isn’t sure.

But before Haknyeon can say another word, Sunwoo pipes up again, his voice raucous and deep, vibrating over the sound of scattered rain.

“Oh and by the way, you got dirt on your shirt from tripping. I think overall you’re just the type to be really clumsy, and that’s why  _ you’re  _ the idiot.” 

Dumbfounded, Haknyeon’s jaw drops, from the literal audacity this  _ tiny  _ boy has to call him an idiot three times in the span of seven minutes.

Haknyeon dismisses the myriad of obscured thoughts intruding his mind as he tramples his way towards the red haired nuisance that seems to irritate him the more he opens his damn trap. Yanking the boy’s arm towards him, Haknyeon’s body fails to follow through with halting his stride, and he walks right into Sunwoo’s personal space. The rusted tin roof above them is held up by four sturdy wooden poles, the sound of rain splattering against the covering. Sunwoo's back collides against the pillar with an  _ oof _ , the dilapidated canopy above them rattling from the sheer force created by the impact. But that wasn’t the focus at that moment, because Haknyeon doesn’t realise what his misstep had led to until he feels a pair of soft thick lips upon his. 

_ What.. the.. fuck. _

What stuns Haknyeon more is that Sunwoo doesn’t push him off, yell at him, or pull away. Something about the kiss just feels right. Like the satisfaction of lodging the last piece of the puzzle into its rightful place, consummating what was just a multitude of tiny pieces into a pulchritudinous masterpiece.

And they both  _ know  _ this was not just some purposeless occurrence that they’ve bumped into each other. 

Sunwoo deepens the kiss, their lips molding together, a fire burning with passion and desire behind their eyelids. It’s something Haknyeon has never experienced before, and the craving deep in his gut grows, even as his lungs are scorched from the lack of oxygen. Haknyeon places a hand against Sunwoo’s chest, his heartbeat pulsating against his flattened palm and Haknyeon doesn’t know if it’s just his imagination, but his own pulse seemed to beat in sync with Sunwoo’s like souls entwined underneath the luminous moon.

Sunwoo pulls away first, his cheeks painted a coral pink, lips glistening under the streetlamp that flickers weakly nearby.

Haknyeon stares at his face, a warmth spreading through his body like wildfire. His chest is heaving as Sunwoo’s eyes bore back into his own, irises swimming in inquisitivity at the dark haired boy before him.

An “ _ oh”  _ susserrates from Sunwoo’s mouth, close to being inaudible, drowned out by the dissipating rain.

As Haknyeon open’s his mouth, he  _ again _ gets interrupted by a shrill ring emitting from the shallow pocket of his jeans,  _ cause when do jeans EVER have deep pockets? _ Irked that he’s being interrupted from interrogating Sunwoo who’s piercing his eyes into Haknyeon’s skull, curiosity heightening between them the longer they stand there without speaking.

_ But Haknyeon knows that curiosity killed the cat. _

He peers at his phone, and the caller appearing on his screen causes him to internally groan.  _ Why him? Why? Is there a reason he had to call now? And for what reason?  _

“Hey, are you gonna pick up or?...” 

Haknyeon glares at Sunwoo, about ready to wring that pretty little neck of his if he doesn’t shu-

“Hey Kev, what’s up?” Haknyeon picks up the call and uses his customer service voice to hide his agitation.

“Heeeeyyyyyy Hakkkiiiieeee! Can I as’ you fur a favo-”

And before Kevin can even finish his sentence, Haknyeon hears a faint sound in the background — the sound of the contents of Kevin’s guts being spilt into a crumpled plastic bag.

_...Of course he’s drunk on a Friday night after his theatre studies class.  _

Kevin met his crush at a class he attended on Friday evenings early on in the semester, and had spent the subsequent weeks ogling the handsome blonde. He had declared that the only way to get to Jacob was to go out with the class and attempt to outdrink him, but that would call for a distant miracle.

Haknyeon expels an exasperated murmur about being a nice friend that no one seems to appreciate, causing Sunwoo to huff out a chuckle in Haknyeon's peripheral vision.

Another glare is aimed towards Sunwoo who put his arms up in surrender, a laugh rippling across the surface of his face. Haknyeon stares a second too long, admiring his eyes that crinkle at the edges, the way his mouth parts into a wide grin displaying rows of pearly whites. And his gaze traces over Sunwoo’s lips that, just a while ago, were on his, the blossoming colour of crimson clematis decorates his cheeks.

“HAAAAKKKKK, PLEASE!” a screech calls through the phone in a cry raw with desperation that pulls him out of his woolgathering.

“K-Kev yeah, chill out dude, I’m coming. Jesus, where are you?” 

Miraculously, the rain has since ceased and that means Haknyeon has to go find Kevin right this instant before he decides to wander off to another bar. Too busy talking to Kevin, he sends an apologetic look to Sunwoo who just smiles back, a look that had seemed to be so genuine despite his usual attitude being quite crass. 

“‘m at the bar we usu’ly go to. Mm’kay? Peace.” And just like that Kevin cuts the line abruptly, no thank you or kind remarks, though Haknyeon knows Kevin is always grateful for his companionship. 

“I’d like to quickly apologise for two things; first is for accidentally... bumping into you before. And second is that I have a friend who is drunk off his head and I have to get to him before he makes a fool of himself in front of his crush. I guess I’ll see you when I see you, Sunwoo-ssi.”

And before Sunwoo can get a word out of his mouth, Haknyeon is sprinting down the street, Naruto style (not that he can embarrass himself any further today). 

\---------

Sunwoo seems to be laughing a lot more than usual on this night, and all because of a peculiar encounter with a brown-haired boy who he accidentally kissed and now realises he only knows by ‘Hak’ or ‘Hakkie’ from whoever was yelling through the phone. Sunwoo looks at his palm, where the words  _ ‘Good morning sunshine!’  _ are written distinctly on his palm.

_ One day, I’ll see you again, Hak… _

\---------

Turning the corner, Haknyeon’s footsteps taper off when he realises he just ran Naruto style down the street away from someone he  _ kissed _ . Letting out a loud guttural yell, he stomps his foot in one spot, contemplating just putting his head through a drywall. 

With pent up frustration at himself, he goes about locating Kevin, who is probably lying down in front of the bar, throwing a fit like a kid for not being allowed back in to see his ‘bae’.

And his predictions ring true. 

Kevin is right there, yelling at the security guards for unfair treatment against him.

“Lem’me back in ya fools! I need to see the luh’ of my life! He is the sun... to ma moon.”

Sprinting up to Kevin, Haknyeon throws a quick apology towards the guards, fitting himself in between the crevice of Kevin’s body and arm and drags him away before Kevin gets issued a fine for being a public nuisance. Haknyeon drags him to the nearest bench and throws Kevin haphazardly like an unloved ragdoll. 

“DUDE! That hurt like a… buttcheek on a stick!” Kevin cackles loudly into the misty air, and it’s obvious that he would not be sobering up any time soon.

_ I can’t believe I left my possible soulmate for this drunk mess. God hear me out: can you not make me suffer all the time? _

“Kev, I gotta get you home, it’s 3AM in the morning and I have work tomorrow.” 

Haknyeon desperately wants to sleep, his head besieged with thoughts of Sunwoo, filling his every organ with pure unsought intrigue as it only fuels the vexation he has for his discordant friend before him.

“Hakkk, I want to see Jacob; we held eye contact for four seconds today and I think I nearly peed myself.”

Haknyeon snuffs out a snicker while analysing Kevin who is nonchalantly drifting down the wooden seat, staring intently at Haknyeon like a snake eyeing its prey.

“Something happened to you while I was off peeing myself in front of my crush, I can see it in your eyes Hakkie.”

Kevin’s eyes soften when various emotions flicker in his best friend’s irises, watching as his resolve falls and his shoulders begin to sag, Haknyeon’s usual happy aura sapped like syrup from a maple tree. 

“I really thought I met my soulmate Kev. He was right there, but when you called, I panicked and ran away. And to make it worse, yes I ran like Naruto.”

An abrupt shriek barrels into the open air, followed with the sound of a slap on the knee as Kevin’s mouth hangs open in a silent guffaw, and Haknyeon just watches him roll back and forth along the battered bench.

“You ran away from your possible soulmate  _ without _ asking for a number? You’re an idiot Hak.” 

_ This is the FOURTH time I’ve been called an idiot tonight. God, I’m asking again — when will this pain end? _

“You know what? I’m leaving you here, bye.”

Haknyeon turns on his heel and walks towards his apartment, not bothering to see if Kevin will follow him. That’s when he hears Kevin yelling, like a cat that has stepped all over a keyboard, getting closer and closer, until he gets body slammed from behind by a bone crushing hug.

“I’m joooking, bro. Don’t be so serious! I was just fooling with you! But in all seriousness, he will come back to you, you’re soulmates anyway.”

And what Kevin says bounces around Haknyeon’s brain like a Microsoft screensaver, waiting for the moment that logo hits the corner square on, creating what Haknyeon would say is a miracle that would go down in history.

_ And at this point, Haknyeon feels like he knows everything and simultaneously nothing at all about Sunwoo, like a slew of light peering through the end of a murky tunnel. _

\---------

The next few days are blurred into what feels like an illusion, monotone skies blended with withering spirits as Haknyeon scrutinises every person he walks past. He finds himself in quite a predicament. The more he seeks Sunwoo out, the more frantically desperate he becomes, at one point alarming a stranger who had looked similar to his soulmate by unpremeditatedly capturing his wrist in a tight hold, getting a confused yelp from the latter. 

Little does he know, Sunwoo is also vigorously seeking him out, detaining his brain’s demand for sleep after instinctively searching till the break of dawn. 

There was a time when Haknyeon had just finished his shift, and he left the store in a rush in the hopes that Sunwoo would be waiting for him under the canopy where they first met. However, Sunwoo entered the convenience store just a few minutes after Haknyeon had left, clueless to the fact that Haknyeon even worked there in the first place.

And even with the words etched in their palm, the ill fate of star crossed lovers wavers above them like trembling leaves during a day of tumultuous downpour.

\---------

Waking up to a litter of hovering clouds was never a good sign.

Haknyeon feels an uneasy feeling settle within his bones, something that causes his skin to crawl and his senses to become overwhelmed with unmitigated nausea. He lifts his palm, paling at the sight before him.

_ I  _

_ love  _

_ you. _

The air is tense, his vision obscures and the oxygen suddenly pries itself from his lungs. That’s when he felt the world topple beneath the weight of an unstable mentality, the fragments piercing through his heart one by one.

The words on his palm shatter him like a snow globe hitting the cold, rigid surface of a cliff’s edge, but the raw and true broken feelings that consume him come from the emotional turmoil of visualising Sunwoo in someone else's arms.

An apprehensive malaise settles in his chest, as he finds it hard to focus. 

_ Love? Who?  _

Haknyeon has no way of getting rid of the thoughts plaguing his mind, like a disastrous tornado tearing through his skull, leaving broken remnants of memories and prodigious pain. Unable to think, he shuts off to the world, barely comprehending the dilemma that is laid out before him. 

_ What did I do to deserve this? I went through life barely being able to understand where I belonged in the world, only to get pushed out continuously, and now the hope I had held onto slips from my hands like granules of sand. What more can you take from me now? _

Haknyeon loses the grasp on the reigns of control in his life, the routine he thought was so deeply rooted in him yanked out with sudden force The connection he has with reality is turned off like a light switch, leaving him in the barren abyss.

_ And to think I really believed in soulmates. What kind of fucking miracle that would be, hey? _

\---------

Increasingly concerned, Kevin had entered Haknyeon’s apartment, the still atmosphere bringing Kevin to feel a rush of panic bubble up in his throat. He quickly paces into Haknyeon’s room to see his friend staring meaninglessly at the decaying ceiling.

“Hey Ju, what’s going on in that mind of yours, hm?”

Haknyeon seems to snap out of his daze when he feels a hand cup the side of his face. Before he knows it, tears are escaping unchecked, and there is no way to stop them now. A harrowing sob racks through his body, the sheer pain of it all breaking Haknyeon into piddling pieces. Seeing this, Kevin wraps his arms around Haknyeon tightly, only loosening his hold when Haknyeon’s cries are reduced to sniffles.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk now, but whatever happened, it’s not the end. When some pathways close, others open. It’s the way you approach the situation that matters most. Of course it’s harder said than done; nearly everything is like that, but life gives you these to make you stronger, to establish what you truly want. The world is your oyster, Hak. Every decision you make leads to another.”

Silence fills the room as Haknyeon mulls over Kevin’s words.

Kevin finally announces that he’s going to make food for the both of them before leaving the room, creating space for Haknyeon to think.

Haknyeon can’t keep weeping over the same situation continuously, especially when the world is still spinning without him. Sobering up his thoughts, he glances at his currently blank palm before conjuring up words for Sunwoo to see.

“ _ I want to declare that I’d give you everything in the world, but even as soulmates, not everything in the world is moral. Because of that, I can’t bring myself to find you, as I will only cause you endless tribulation and that’s not what you yearn for. _ ”

\---------

Haknyeon goes about his life again, and this time, although he does still find it dull and mediocre, he revels in the time he spends with his friends. The feeling of having people who care and support you reminds him that, even without the person that was destined for him, he could still love the life he leads.

Serenity falls upon that particular Thursday morning. The day passes by slowly at the convenience store as Haknyeon occupies himself with stacking shelves while he muses about his future. The colourless streets are filled with people from a plethora of backgrounds, all with different lives, different stories, different  _ soulmates. _

The bell chimes erratically at the front door, snapping Haknyeon out of his trance, and he carelessly throws a greeting to whoever is at the door as he refills the shelf of shrimp crackers. 

Haknyeon makes a small mental note to snag a few bags before he leaves his shift and he walks behind the register now that a person is wandering the aisles within the store. Within a few minutes, he hears footsteps adjacent to him, closing the distance between them. The person walks up to the counter, dumping an array of snacks across the benchtop before holding out a carton of strawberry milk towards Haknyeon’s face. 

_ Please don’t test me today, God. If this piece of shit gets on my nerves, I’m out for blood. _

Haknyeon mutters a ‘good morning’, lifting the carton from the stranger's hand, and his eyes lock with the outstretched palm. The words that had just left his mouth begin to appear on the hand before him, inked like a freshly etched tattoo. Instantly, his head snaps up to see the boy he thought he never wanted to see ever again. The utter despair he feels knowing his soulmate loves someone else oscillates through him at the sight of the red haired boy before him. Even with the listless squint on Haknyeon’s face, a small smile materialises on the surface of Sunwoo's face like the sun appearing from behind the clouds on a gloomy day.

Haknyeon isn’t sure how to react — to be willing to have his heart broken again or to protect himself from further emotional turmoil.

But all he does is smile, because in the end, fate will decide its path. All Haknyeon had to do is  acquiesce.

the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Kudos and comments are gratefully appreciated! <3
> 
> find me on twt @juyolisa where even when I'm ia, I scream my ass off :-D
> 
> Have an amazing day and stay safe wherever you are in the world <3


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